Price May Start the Season on the PUP List

According to Scott Reynolds of the Pewter Report, Tampa Bay second-year defensive tackle Brian Price may have to start 2011 on the PUP list. Price went on injured reserve last year after only five games due to suffering both a torn hamstring and a damaged pelvis.

The first of two second-round picks from a year ago, Price attended the Bucs voluntary, unofficial mini-camp at the IMG Performance Institute in Bradenton, Fla. on Tuesday, but was limited to just lifting weights and watching the action from the sidelines. Although he had surgery last year, the procedure Price had done was quite radical and involved using screws to fasten his hamstring to the bone as well as attaching the pelvic bones themselves. “They said I was the first person in the NFL to have anything like it,” Price said. “I have two screws on each Tubersity of Ischium. I got the X-ray and when you look at it, it’s like, ‘How are you walking right now?’ They screwed my bones together. I’m like Iron Man right now.”

When asked if his goal is to be ready for training camp, which would start in one month if the lockout were lifted, Price dodged the question just like he tries to avoid offensive linemen on the way to sack the quarterback. “Man, my goal is to be ready for the Hall of Fame,” Price said. “I’m trying to go to the Hall of Fame one day. This is something to add to my story. This is just another chapter in a book that every great player goes through. It’s easy to fold right now, but it takes a champion to fight through something like this. I’m trying to keep a positive attitude. I’m fighting and working.

“I just started jogging not too long ago. That was like a big, big improvement and a big step forward. Being able to jog and flip heavy tires – those are some of the things I’ve been able to do just now. I’m sore the next day, though. I haven’t done any on-field stuff yet, but that’s coming next. I’m just taking it easy.”